Dietary product similar to caviar and method for its production

ABSTRACT

A dietary product includes granules having an outer layer of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion, with the following ratio of components forming the granules, % by mass: 
     
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     egg white      13-30                                                      
egg yolk       45-71                                                      
oil material   9.0-30                                                     
food colorant   1.0-3.0.                                                  
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     heating of the egg white to a temperature not below 35° C., introducing egg yolk, oil material and fool colorant in the indicated ratios until formation of a viscous emulsion which is fed dropwise into food vegetable oil heated to a temperature of 80°-95° C.

This application is filed under 35 U.S.C. 371 with respect to PCTApplication SU91/00203, filed Oct. 10, 1991.

TECHNICAL FILED

The present invention relates to dietary product similar to caviar andmore particularly to caviar of sturgeon fish and to a method for itsproduction.

PRIOR ART

Natural catch of such valuable delicious dietary product as caviar ofsturgeon and cartilaginous fish is reduced owing to worsening ofecological situation and decreased number of habitats of these kinds offish. That is why, at present widely used are various methods forproduction of dietary products analogous to natural caviar of sturgeonand cartilaginous fish.

Known art methods for production of dietary products analogous to caviardiffer in quality of the used protein raw material, gelation component,parameters of technological process, and make it possible to producesaid products in the form of granules or capsules.

Known in the art is a method for production of dietary products similarto caviar (GB,B,2,183,985 ) providing production of capsules consistingof layers of calcium alginate filled with viscous liquid and oilmaterial in the form of two phases. The method resides in preparing anemulsion consisting of a viscous liquid, oil material and calcium salt;forming of capsules by way of dropwise adding said emulsion to an aqeoussolution of calcium alginate and surrounding of said drop-like emulsionby a layer of calcium alginate; separating said emulsion in the capsulesinto viscous liquid and oil material by way of heating the capsules at atemperature more than 45° C. Viscous liquid includes an aqeous solutionof a sol material selected from the group: xanthene gum, evergreen beantree fruits' gum, guar gum, gelatin and carragenin. As oil material usedare animal and/or vegetable oils selected from the group consisting ofsoy-bean oil, rape oil, fish oil and lard oil.

The obtained dietary product approaches at maximum roe of cartilaginousfish in texture, form-stability properties, content of water retained ina capsule for a long time.

However, this dietary product has rather large size of a capsule, up to8 mm in diameter, and higher strength of a capsule due to the presenceof calcium gluconate as compared with genuine roe of cartilaginous fish.This method is characterized by a multi-stage outline and difficulty incontrolling the quality of the obtained product at intermediate stages.

Known in the art is a method for production of a dietary product similarto caviar of sturgeon fish species (SU,1,423,098) consisting inpreparing a mixture of albumin milk, gelatin, flavour additives andblack food colourant in the form of a viscous liquid at a temperature of95° C., feeding this liquid in a dropwise manner into food vegetable oilat heating the latter to a temperature of 110°-150° C. and forminggelatinous grains during 7-20 s. The obtained grains are immersed into alow layer of vegetable oil cooled to a temperature of 15° C. forsolidification. Solidified grains are subjected to culinary treatmentwith a mixture of ascorbic acid, fish oil, corn oil and common salt.

The dietary product produced by this method has a strong capsule formedby gelatin and is characterized by insufficient organoleptic propertiesdue to a low content of oil (1.2-2.5%) in albumin milk, puretransparence of a grain. Such dietary product would not possess milddelicate consistence, required colour, that is it would not correspondin its quality to the genuine caviar of sturgeon fish species.

The method is characterized by considerable power expenditures anddoesn't make it possible to control the quality of the product obtaineddue to high temperatures of conducting the process.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The invention is based on the problem to provide a dietary productsimilar to caviar, approaching at maximum, in its properties, thegenuine caviar of sturgeon fish, and to provide a method for itsproduction by way of respective selection of components, changingconditions of preparing their mixture and forming the dietary product,which would make it possible to improve the end product quality due toenhanced organoleptic properties at considerable simplification of thetechnological process.

This problem is solved by offering a dietary product similar to caviarcomprising granules having an outer layer of denaturated egg white andan inner layer consisting of an aggregate-stable emulsion formed bynon-denaturated egg white, egg yolk, oil material and food colourant,with the following ratio of components forming a granule, % by mass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white       13-30                                                         egg yolk        45-71                                                         oil material    9.0-30                                                        food colourant   1.0-3.0.                                                     ______________________________________                                    

The dietary product of the invention, owing to introduction of egg whiteand yolk, oil material into its composition, approaches at maximum thegenuine caviar of sturgeon fish species in relation of quantitativecontent of valuable proteins, oil, vitamins and microelements. It ischaracterized by an excellent form-stability, has a light grain 2.5-3.mm in diameter and of a required colour, mild delicate consistence intaste, that is it is an analogue of caviar of sturgeon fish species inits organoleptic properties. Pasteurized and canned dietary product ofthe invention can be kept for a long time. For example, after 6 months'storage in a refrigerator, it preserves its wonderful taste.

It is reasonable that said oil material should comprise at least oneanimal and/or vegetable oil selected from the group consisting of oliveoil, soy-bean oil, sun-flower oil, corn oil, fish oil, margarine andbutter.

Such oil material ensures viscosity of the emulsion forming the innerlayer of the granule which is very close to viscosity of the genuinegrain of roe, and doesn't affect organoleptic properties of the dietaryproduct. It is also desirable that said oil material should containoil-soluble flavour additive taken in the amount of 2-10% of the totalmass of said components forming a granule. To improve taste of thedietary product and ensure aggregate stability of the emulsion formingthe inner layer of a granule, it is advantageous that the oil materialshould comprise common salt in the amount of 3-10% of the total mass ofsaid components forming a granule.

The problem is also solved by providing a method for production of adietry product similar to caviar, including preparation of a mixture ofcomponents in the form of a viscous liquid, dropwise introduction ofthis liquid into food vegetable oil at heating of the latter, in which,according to the invention, as components of the mixture use is made ofegg white, egg yolk, oil material and food colourant, and their mixtureis prepared by way of heating the egg white, taken in the amount of13-30% by mass, to a temperature not below 35° C., and introductiontherein of egg yolk, oil material and food colourant, taken in a massratio of 45-74:9.0-30:1.0-3.0, respectively, till formation of anaggregate-stable emulsion in the form of a viscous liquid, the obtainedemulsion is dropwise fed into the food vegetable oil, a temperature ofwhich is maintained in 80°-95° C. range, and granules of the end productare formed.

Conducting the process under such temperature conditions and using thecomponents of such qualitative and quantitative composition makes itpossible to produce a dietary product in the form of granules, similarin structure to grains of the genuine caviar of sturgeon fish species.As distinct from capsules, the granules may be conceived as a singlewhole, that is they are formed by an aggregate-stable emulsion with aviscous consistence, the structure of which becomes dense and strong inthe peripheral part of the granule due to denaturation of the egg white.It is precisely the gel-like structure from the egg white in the surfacelayer of the emulsion drop that determines presence of two layers of thecomposition indicated above. The granules are formed owing to the forcesof surface tension as a drop of viscous emulsion formed by the mixtureof components gets into the heated food vegetable oil.

Composition of components is determined by the necessity to produce aviscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Using the egg white in the amountless than 13% by mass leads to worsening of form-stability of a granuleand to deterioration of taste of the dietary product. Increase of itscontent in the dietary product more than 30% by mass results in the factthat the granule becomes denser, mildness and delicacy of its tastevanish, a whitish tint appears, that is commercial appearance worsens.

Decrease of the egg yolk content below 45% by mass results indeterioration of calorie content of the dietary product, while itsincrease above 17% by mass leads to reduced form-stability of thegranule and deterioration of taste of the product.

Oil material in the capacity of which it is expedient to use at leastone animal and/or vegetable oil selected from the group consisting ofolive oil, soy-bean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, fish oil, margarine,butter, imparts the necessary full value of oil to the dietary product,provides the product with delicious consistence, makes it possible forthe mixture of components to be in the form of an aggregate-stableemulsion. That is why, decrease of its content below 9.0% by massconsiderably affects organoleptic properties of the dietary product,while its increase more than 30% by mass results in stratification ofthe emulsion forming the inner layer of the granule.

Food colourant is used in the amount of 1.0-3.0% by mass depending onthe required colour intensity of the dietary product as compared withthe caviar of white sturgeon, stellate sturgeon and sturgeon.

In preparing an aggregate-stable emulsion with a viscous consistencefrom the mixture of components, egg white is preliminarily heated to atemperature not below 35° C., preferably in 35°-45° C. range, and thenegg yolk, oil material and food colourant are introduced therein at theindicated mass ratio. At a specified temperature, egg white has notenough time to start denaturation and optimal conditions are created fordistribution of the components within the total mass of the mixture, forhomogenation of the latter, provides is subsequent faster granulation ofthe mixture drops in the heated food vegetable oil.

To dispense with subsequent culinary treatment of the obtained dietaryproduct, it is reasonable to introduce oil-soluble flavour additives inthe amount of 2-10% and common salt in the amount of 3-10% of the totalmass of the components forming a granule. As a flavour additive, use maybe made of herring milt, milt of cartilaginous fish, spiced sprats. Oilmaterial is thoroughly mixed with flavour additive and common salt,preferably till formation of a uniform homogeneous mass, which is thenpassed through a sieve and added to a heated egg white. It should benoted that stirring of the components may be effected while preparing amixture therefrom or during a process of their introduction into the eggwhite or after this introduction. As the mixture is prepared during atime excluding its cooling below 35° C., a process of granulation ofdrops in the form of a viscous emulsion in the vegetable oil heated to atemperature of 80°-95° C. is so fast that only a part of egg white hasenough time to get denaturated and emulsion preserves its properties nowin the granule. At a temperature below 80° C., form-stability of thegranule is considerably lost, the granule can be easily destroyed, whileat a temperature above 95° C. the granule becomes rigid, the colourantbecomes colourless, organoleptic properties of the dietary productworsen. Drops of the mixture of components are fed with the aid of ametal capillary through the "heated vegetable oil--air" boundarysurface. Feeding rate through a capillary is selected taking intoaccount viscosity of the mixture of components which is determined bytheir mass ratio so as to prevent destruction of drops at striking thesurface. It is reasonable that vegetable oil should circulate in avessel where granulation is performed and be diluted with new portionsas the oil has a tendency to become rancid and taste of the obtaineddietary product worsens. By a flow of vegetable oil the granules aredelivered from the vessel onto a sieve to be separated from the oil. Ina necessary case, the obtained dietary product is subjected to culinarytreatment. To do this, the dietary product of the invention is mixedwith a homogenate from liver of wall-eye pollack, milt of cartilaginousfish and fish oil, or homogenate of cod in its juice. The obtaineddietary product approaches at maximum the genuine caviar of sturgeonfish species in its properties. The method, according to the invention,characterized by a simple technology, includes only two stages. Itdoesn't require considerable power expenditures and complicatedequipment. Quality of the obtained dietary product is easily controlledat any of these stages.

Best Embodiment of the Invention

In a vessel equipped with a stirrer added are 210 g egg white heated toa temperature of 40° C., then 650 g egg yolk and 10 g black foodcolourant are introduced thereto. Preliminarily prepared is a mixtureconsisting of 65 g of deodorized sunflower oil, 65 g of cod oil, 20 g ofherring milt and 30 g of common salt, the mixture is thoroughly groundtill formation of a homogeneous mass. The homogeneous mass is passedthrough a sieve and introduced into the mixture of components understirring till formation of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Througha metal capillary 2.0 mm in diameter, the obtained emulsion is feddropwise into a column containing circulating corn oil heated to atemperature of 89° C. Feeding rate is 150 drops per minute.

Formed spherical granules 2.5 mm in diameter are carried out by oil ontoa sieve for letting the oil drain off.

The obtained dietary product similar to caviar of stellate sturgeoncontains granules having an outer layer of denaturated egg white and aninner layer of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion formed by thecomponents indicated below and taken in the following ratio, % by mass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white                     21                                              egg yolk                      65                                              black food colourant          1.0                                             oil material                  13                                              oil-soluble flavour additive taken in the amount of 2% by                     mass common salt taken in the amount of 3% by mass.                           ______________________________________                                    

Said additive and common salt are dissolved in the oil material andtheir amount is calculated for a whole mass of egg white, egg yolk, oilmaterial and black food colourant. The obtained dietary product, in itsappearance and taste, is analogous to caviar of stellate sturgeon.

Given below are another examples of realization of the invention.

EXAMPLE 1

In a vessel equipped with a stirrer, fed were 130 g egg white heated toa temperature of 38° C., then 710 g egg yolk and 30 g black foodcolourant were introduced therein under stirring. Preliminarily preparedwas a mixture consisting of 80 g of soy-bean oil, 50 g of margarine and100 g of spiced sprats, the mixture was thoroughly ground till formationof a homogeneous mass. The homogeneous mass was passed through a sieveand introduced into the mixture of components under stirring tillformation of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Using a metalcapillary 2.5 nun in diameter, the obtained emulsion was dropwise fedinto a column with circulating corn oil heated to a temperature of 90°C. Feeding rate was 150 drops per minute. Formed granules 3 mm indiameter were carried out by oil onto a sieve for letting the oil drainoff.

The obtained dietary product similar to caviar of sturgeon fishcontained granules having an outer layer of denaturated egg white and aninner layer of a viscous emulsion formed by the components indicatedbelow and taken in the following ratio, % by mass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white                     13                                              egg yolk                      71                                              black food colourant          3.0                                             oil material                  13                                              oil-soluble flavour additive taken in the amount of 10% by                    mass of the total mass of egg white, egg yolk, oil material                   and black food colourant.                                                     ______________________________________                                    

The obtained dietary product, in its appearance and taste, was analogousto caviar of sturgeon fish.

EXAMPLE 2

In a vessel equipped with a stirrer, fed were 300 g egg white heated toa temperature of 45° C., then 600 g egg yolk and 10 g black foodcolourant were introduced therein under stirring. Preliminarily preparedwas a mixture consisting of 45 g of butter, 45 g of oil of cartilaginousfish and 100 g of common salt, the mixture was thoroughly ground tillcomplete dissolving of the salt. Said oil material containing saltdissolved therein was introduced into the mixture of components understirring till formation of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Using ametal capillary 2.5 mm in diameter, the obtained emulsion was introduceddropwise into a column with circulating soy-bean oil heated to atemperature of 95° C. Feeding rate was 130 drops per minute. Formedspherical granules 3 mm in diameter were carried out by oil onto a sievefor letting the oil drain off, then the granules were subjected toculinary treatment. A homogenate from 50 g of cod liver in its juice wasprepared and mixed with the granules.

The obtained dietary product similar to caviar of stellate sturgeoncontained granules having an outer layer of denaturated egg white and aninner layer of a viscous emulsion formed by the components indicatedbelow and taken in the following ratio, % by mass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white                      30                                             egg yolk                       60                                             black food colourant           1.0                                            oil material                   9.0                                            common salt taken in the amount of 10% of the total mass of                   egg white, egg yolk, oil material and black food colourant.                   ______________________________________                                    

The obtained dietary product, in its appearance and taste, was analogousto caviar of stellate sturgeon.

EXAMPLE 3

In a vessel equipped with a stirrer, fed were 250 g egg white heated toa temperature of 35° C., then 450 g egg yolk and 10 g black foodcolourant were introduced therein. Preliminarily prepared was a mixtureconsisting of 300 g of anchovy fish oil, and 60 g of herring milt, themixture was ground till formation of a homogeneous mass. The homogeneousmass was passed through a sieve and mixed with the components indicatedabove till formation of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Using ametal capillary 2.5 mm in diameter, the obtained emulsion was dropwisefed into a column with circulating corn oil heated to a temperature of87° C. Feeding rate was 140 drops per minute. Formed spherical granules3 mm in diameter were carried out by oil onto a sieve for letting theoil drain off.

The obtained dietary product similar to caviar of stellate sturgeon,contained granules having an outer layer of denaturated egg white and aninner layer of a viscous emulsion formed by the components indicatedbelow and taken in the following ratio, % by mass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white                      25                                             egg yolk                       45                                             black food colourant           1.0                                            oil material                   30                                             oil-soluble flavour additive taken in the amount of 6% of the                 total mass of egg white, egg yolk, oil material and black food                colourant.                                                                    ______________________________________                                    

The obtained dietary product, in its appearance and taste, was analogousto caviar of stellate sturgeon.

EXAMPLE 4

200 g of egg white heated to a temperature of 35° C. were fed into avessel equipped with a stirrer. Into the vessel filled with egg whiteintroduced were 600 g of egg yolk, 180 g of anchovy fish oil and 20 g ofblack food colourant, the components were mixed till formation of aviscous aggregate-stable emulsion. Using a metal capillary 2.5 mm indiameter, the obtained emulsion was dropwise introduced into a columnwith circulating olive oil, a temperature of which was maintained equalto 80° C., the column having an air space in its top part. Feeding ratewas 150 drops per minute. Formed spherical granules 3 mm in diameterwere carried out by oil onto a sieve for letting the oil drain off,after that the granules were subjected to culinary treatment. Ahomogenate from 20 g of wall-eye pollack liver, 20 g of milt ofcartilaginous fish and 10 g of fish oil was prepared, which was thenmixed with the granules.

The obtained dietary product, similar to caviar of stellate sturgeon,contained granules all an amber-black colour, having an outer layer ofdenaturated egg white and an inner layer of a viscous emulsion formed bythe components indicated below and taken in the following ratio, % bymass:

    ______________________________________                                        egg white          20                                                         egg yolk           60                                                         anchovy fish oil   18                                                         black food colourant                                                                             2.0                                                        ______________________________________                                    

The obtained dietary product, in its appearance and taste, was analogousto caviar of stellate sturgeon.

Industrial Applicability

The proposed invention will find application in food industry forproduction of a delicious dietary product of high quality, which isanalogous to the genuine caviar of sturgeon fish species.

We claim:
 1. A method for the production of a dietary granule productcomprisingpreparing a mixture consisting of egg white, egg yolk, oilmaterial, and food colorant wherein said mixture is prepared by heatingegg white in an amount of 13-30% by mass based upon the total mass to atemperature not below 35° C., and introducing therein egg yolk, oilmaterial and food colorant, in a mass ratio of 45-71:9.0-30:1.0-3.0,based the total mass, respectively, until formation of a viscousaggregate-stable emulsion; feeding said viscous emulsion dropwise intovegetable oil, at a temperature which is maintained within 80°-95° C.,range, and forming granules of the dietary product.
 2. A methodaccording to claim 1,wherein the egg white is heated to a temperaturewithin the range of 35°-45° C.
 3. A method according to claim 1,whereinthe oil material used comprises at least one animal oil or vegetable oilselected from the group consisting of olive oil, soy-bean oil, sunfloweroil, corn oil, fish oil, margarine and butter.
 4. A method for theproduction of dietary granule product comprising preparing a mixtureconsisting of egg white, egg yolk, oil material, food colorant, and anoil-soluble flavor additive wherein said mixture is prepared by heatingegg white in an amount of 13-30% by mass based upon the total mass to atemperature not below 35° C., and introducing therein said egg yolk, oilmaterial and food colorant, in a mass ratio of 45-71:9.0-30:1.0-3.0,based on the total mass, respectively, and said oil soluble flavoradditive, until formation of a viscous aggregate-stable emulsion whereinprior to introduction of said oil material into egg white, said oilsoluble flavor additive is added to said oil material in an amount of2-10% of said total mass; feeding said viscous emulsion dropwise intovegetable oil at a temperature which is maintained within 80°-95° C.;and forming granules of the dietary product.
 5. A method for theproduction of a dietary granule product comprising preparing a mixtureconsisting of egg white, egg yolk, oil material, food colorant and saltwherein said mixture is prepared by heating egg white in an amount of13-30% by mass based upon the total mass to a temperature not below 35°C., and introducing therein said egg yolk, oil material and foodcolorant, in a mass ratio of 45-71:9.0-30:1.0-3.0, based on the totalmass, respectively, and said salt until formation of a viscousaggregate-stable emulsion wherein prior to introduction of said saltinto egg white, said salt is added to said oil material in an amount of3-10% of the total mass; feeding said viscous emulsion dropwise intovegetable oil, at a temperature which is maintained within 80°-95° C.range; and forming granules of the dietary product.
 6. A dietarygranular product made by the method of claim
 1. 7. A dietary granularproduct made by the method of claim
 3. 8. A dietary granular productmade by the method of claim
 4. 9. A dietary granular product made by themethod of claim 5.